Taking Mountain To Hiker / Guide reveals all on Mount Diablo

2000-05-20 04:00:00 PDT CONTRA COSTA -- Four million years after those distinctive twin peaks started taking shape, Mount Diablo finally has its own book.

And no, I don't mean "The Satanic Verses."

The work in question is "The Mount Diablo Guide," published by Berkeley Hills Books in collaboration with the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. The $11.95 paperback should slip inside a jacket quite nicely. Good thing; the only way to get a better sense of the mountain is to camp there.

There's geologic info (the peaks continue to rise .1 inch a year) and tips for ornithologists ("The most sought-after bird . . . is probably the black-chinned sparrow"). You learn where to find wintering ladybugs (sheltered ravines on the Falls Trail) and you learn that the state park, now 19,000 acres, opened in 1921 with just 630 acres at the summit.

The book includes descriptions of 30 hikes on the mountain, maps and all. So even if you never tackle the 2,200-foot ascent of the Olympia Trail, now you know it exists. Me, I'm still getting in shape for the paved loop at the summit.

DEVILISH ADDENDUM: The guide also offers a postscript -- or precursor -- to last week's item about the effort in Antioch to change the name of Diablo Vista Elementary School to something less ominous.

Turns out that in 1850, at California's constitutional convention, General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo proposed naming this county . . . Mount Diablo!

Alas, Diablo no go. The state Legislature responded with what were described later as "warm debates" and then settled on Contra Costa. Sixteen years later a Congregational church petition took on the mountain itself, asking for a switch to Coal Hill. That idea, like coal, was scuttled.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMER: Housing tracts aren't the only thing new in eastern Contra Costa. There's also a tasty green apple from Australia that might perk up the county agricultural scene.

Sundowner is the name, the flavor resembles a milder Fuji, and if you move quick you can find the last of the fall harvest at your local Safeway or Andronico's. It's the first major appearance by this Australian variety, grown on 60 acres near Brentwood by Ron Nunn, the county's largest farmer.

"It's a gamble," says Nunn, who scored big in the '80s when he was one of the first growers to bet on Fujis. "I hope there's a good response -- it's an interesting apple."

What Nunn likes best, though, is that they're picked so late they can't be grown in Washington, where an aggressive apple industry is doing its best to monopolize the national market. If Sundowners catch on, Nunn could carve out a tasty -- and profitable -- niche.

He's also heartened to see that Sundowner trees are fairly resistant to fire blight. That isn't the case with another Australian variety, Pink Lady, which Nunn had high hopes for two years ago: "It doesn't look like they work in Brentwood," he says sadly. "We'll probably take them out and plant another variety instead."

What did Nunn add to the mix last year? Twenty acres of . . . Granny Smith trees. Farming's like an investment portfolio; growth stocks are nice, but don't ignore the blue chips.

GLIMPSE THE FUTURE: The most interesting sight in downtown Martinez next week will be in the foyer of the County Administration Building at 651 Pine St.

That's where you'll see the designs for a new government complex presented by four architectural firms vying for the job. Plans call for a major structure on what now are two parking lots north of the county buildings on Escobar Street. Besides serving county government, there'd be room for a new Martinez City Hall.

These are concepts, not final proposals, but the visions offered are provocative. And since the complex will belong to everyone in Contra Costa, you might as well make your opinion known before the supervisors meet on June 6 to choose the winning firm.

Whatever design gets the nod, the county hopes to break ground in 2002. Once the complex is finished, the grim tower at 651 Pine can come down -- not a moment too soon.

CLOSING LINES: After less than 18 months in business, Max's Cinema Cafe closed shop at Brenden Theatres' outpost in downtown Concord. And you thought Leo DiCaprio's "The Beach" came and went quickly . . . Nature is where you find it: Spring has sprung in Contra Costa when the star jasmine along roadways blooms so fragrantly you can smell it even when driving by . . . Strangest sight in the local tabloid This Week is a display by the Clayton firm Critter Gitters, which promises not only animal removal but a "witness protection plan."

"It's just a way to get people looking at the ad," says owner Mike Murphy -- and by golly, it worked.